Exemplary systems can be used to conduct banking transactions between a service provider and remotely located customers. The systems can be used in drive-through banking applications as well as in other transaction environments, as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,299,891 and 6,146,057, which are owned by the assignee of the present invention and the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference. Other applications are shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/245,641 filed Oct. 7, 2005, as well as in U.S. Provisional Application 60/719,932 filed Sep. 16, 2005, the disclosures of which are also herein incorporated by reference.
Transaction drawers, which are also referred to herein as deal drawers, may be used to carry out transactions. Deal drawers may be used by a service provider such as a bank teller within a facility to transfer items between the teller and a customer outside the facility. This may be, for example, a person in a vehicle located in a drive-through lane adjacent to the teller. Bank tellers and other service providers may exchange items with customers through the use of deal drawers to carry out transactions. Exemplary deal drawers are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,860; U.S. Pat. No. 7,182,027; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/529,463 filed Sep. 27, 2006; the disclosures of each of which are herein incorporated by reference.
Exemplary transaction systems can include pneumatic tube conveyor systems, deal drawers, and/or other types of transaction devices that enable exchange of items between a service provider and a customer to facilitate the carrying out of transactions. Exemplary improvements enable the tracking of transaction activity that occurs in connection with such transaction systems. In addition, exemplary improvements enable the tracking of transaction activity that includes vehicle movement and positioning, by utilizing existing telephone systems and associated wiring. Also, exemplary improvements enable the utilization of tracking data in evaluating and improving the operation of the transaction systems.